Cowards Die Many Times
by Stargategeek
Summary: London, 1886. Helen is sick, and she blames Nikola for being bedridden. Cause really, it was his fault. Not really rated M, but not taking any chances...it's highly suggestive.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_**~~~~Oxford, 1885~~~~**_

Helen sneezed.

It was winter, one of the colder ones they'd had in a while, the kind you could feel in your toes. Christmas had come and gone, New Years had rolled by uneventfully, and spring was not so far on the horizon, perfect time to get a fever and a ragged cough.

Helen was miserable; cooped up in her bedroom, cocooned in blankets so tightly she could barely kick them off of her when her fever rose. Tea sat on her nightstand untouched as well as some empty bottles of some homegrown concoction James had made for her using one of her father's recipes that didn't so much as cure her than make her too drowsy to notice how gross she felt.

The boys had scheduled out who would take care of her when. Nigel took the morning shift since he was an early riser, John brought her lunch in the midday, James brought her tea in the afternoon, and Nikola…

Helen sneezed again, finishing it off with a whiny groan as she lazily reached over for her over-used handkerchief lying on the bedside. She wanted to crawl into a vat of disinfectant and die.

The curtains were drawn to ensure she would get the utmost rest, and all three men beforehand had made sure she was as comfortable as she could possibly be without taking into regard that she was probably more bored than anything. That's why she looked forward to _his _visits the most.

He always brought her dinner, a light broth with a few saltines, some times he brought her something with bit more body to see if she could handle it, like an orange. He always cleared away the cold tea that had passed it's levels of nausea hours ago, unraveled her from her tight web of sheets and duvets, propped her pillow up and then gloriously open the curtains so that she could watch the sunset, and crack open the window fully so that the stale air could be refreshed.

He was her knight in shining armor in these dark times of illness.

The doorknob rattled – speak of the devil.

Helen eagerly looked up, desperately craving any sort of company at this point. Long quiet hours of listening to herself wheeze were hardly fitting ways to pass the time.

The door swung open and Nikola stepped through carrying a tray in his hands.

"Evening lijepa," he smiled to her through the thin line of a mustache he was growing on his upper lip.

"Shut up," she growled, burying her head in her pillow. He chuckled at her.

"Feeling any better?" he sniggered as he traveled around the bed to her nightstand. He made a face at her cold tea before setting the tray on the free space, easily trading one tray for another.

"Perfectly miserable, as always," Helen tried to sit up but was hindered by the tight cocoon of sheets John and James had bound her in.

Nikola smirked watching her try to wrench herself free from their suffocating grip.

"Let me just get rid of this, then I'll help you," he teased with a wink, and Helen huffed with frustration, flopping back against her pillows again. She hated how even that small struggle practically exhausted her.

Nikola took the tea tray to the bathroom and placed it on the sink, then returned, immediately going over to the heavy curtains and prying them open, the sun was fading fast, and Helen could see the icicles forming on the ledge above her balcony, and the faintest sound of a bird or a squirrel chirping in the trees down in the garden. Life. Nikola cracked the window open wide and the freshest of breezes wafted in, and she inhaled it all she'd like to think.

Then he came back over to her and began peeling away a layer of heavy, downey-filled comforter, then several of her softer, warmer sheepskins, until she only had her thin white sheet covering her. He unknotted the sheet so that it lay across her flat.

Helen smiled with relief at the drop in temperature; she had felt like she'd been dying all day.

Nikola draped her to him as he shuffled around behind her, moving the pillows to a better position before slowly letting her fall back against them. She smiled even more widely having been able to smell his cologne off his neck, any smell was better than sweaty sick person smell.

"There," Nikola smiled, his eyes meeting hers. "There's that smile again."

Helen swatted him playfully.

"Honestly, the way John and James coddle me it's enough to make me sick all over again," she sighed, shaking out her arms.

"They fuss because they care," Nikola muttered teasingly.

"And you don't?" Helen teased back, reaching behind her to gather her mop of damp hair so that she could push it all to one shoulder, leaving the other exposed to the cool air.

Nikola watched her breathe in a pleasurable sigh at the breeze touching her overheated skin.

"I do," he smiled. "I just have different motives than they do for nursing you back to health."

She gave him a sly grin at that.

"Yes, right, it was your fault," she teased.

He chuckled and sat down on the bed beside her. He reached over for the bowl of soup on the nightstand and cradled it in his hands, picking up the spoon.

"Here, this is an old family recipe, Mama Tesla original, will knock the sickness right out of you," he grinned.

"Your mother made soup?" Helen asked. She always found it fascinating when he mentioned his family, however briefly.

"She had to, I was very sickly as a child, always getting fevers, I'd be bedridden for days, weeks on end. My mother…she was a genius in her own right. Prayer never sufficed for her as a way to cure her boy, unlike my father," Nikola frowned slightly in the memory.

"She sounds lovely," Helen nodded.

"She is, you should meet her sometime, you'd like her," Nikola smiled fondly, thinking of his mother. Helen knew, with no amount of uncertainty that Nikola was a mama's boy.

Without another word he proffered the spoon full of the mysterious broth up to her mouth.

"Eat," he muttered and she obliged, the first mouthful nearly knocking the wind out of her. She coughed and spluttered.

"What the hell does your mother put in that, a banshee?" she gagged.

Nikola chuckled.

"Potato vodka and spices," he shrugged.

Helen gagged a bit more.

"How much did you put in?" she gurgled.

"Enough for flavor, now eat," he held up another spoonful and Helen eyed it warily.

"Trust me, it gets easier the more you swallow," he nodded encouragingly.

Helen huffed and closed her eyes, quickly swallowing the mouthful before tasting it.

She only coughed a little this time.

She ate a few more spoonfuls before she realized he was right, and the broth wasn't as nearly as powerful as it had first been.

After a while she relaxed into the pillows, allowing Nikola to ladle spoonful after spoonful of the mysterious soup. The flavor was somewhat familiar to her after awhile, and she could almost not stop the laugh when realization dawned on her.

"It's chicken broth!" she cried.

Nikola smirked sheepishly.

"It's just chicken broth with hot peppers in it," she swatted him.

"So, Mama Tesla wasn't that mystical, it works doesn't it," he shrugged.

"I can't believe you got me going with that vodka thing," Helen cried.

"I have to keep you on your toes somehow," he teased.

"Here I'm thinking I'm eating some mystical Serbian soup from the home country and turns out it's just chicken broth with a load of chili peppers cooked into it," Helen groaned.

"Not quite, but close," Nikola smirked, placing the bowl down.

"Way to make the sick girl feel stupid," Helen covered her face with a hand.

Nikola chuckled and gently grabbed the hand, pulling it away from her eyes and over to his lips where he kissed the knuckles.

"I wouldn't be doing that if I were you, I'm simply crawling with germs," Helen sighed.

"I'll survive," Nikola smiled, placing her hand down. "After all, it would be justified payback, wouldn't it?"

Helen smiled at him knowingly.

In fact, Nikola was instrumental to the incident that caused her current condition.

It had been a few weeks ago, when she and Nikola had dressed themselves up for a day out in the snow. Her father was busy with clients, and John, James and Nigel were content staying inside with their warm brandy's sitting by the fire. Nikola had eagerly followed her out into the cold air, the and ankle deep sea of white of the garden.

He had thrown the first snowball, then ducked behind a tree to prepare the ammo for his next shot. Then she had surprised him by dumping a whole armful on his head. He arose, damp hair, and snow tricking down his neck and back, with vengeance in his eyes.

She giggled and ran away, trying to make a swift escape into the small maze in the center of the large estate but he had caught her before that was possible and tackled her into the snow bank.

His vengeance then complete with a hearty laugh from both of them, he rolled to the side so he wouldn't crush her and she found herself going with him, rolling on top of him, not willing to let go of his warm weight.

This…thing of theirs had been going on for some time. They liked to experiment with each other…in the name of curiosity, of course! It started as a game, as all things of this nature normally do in all their innocence. A kiss here, a touch there, who was to know that it would eventually lead to their first coupling. An ungraceful, unplanned, jagged mess that left them with big knowing grins on their faces. It added to the game; no one knew, no one even suspected, not even James, the all seeing know it all.

Nikola secretly relished the times when Helen wanted to play with him. He'd never been interested in sex as a younger man, but with Helen…he understood why some men were ravenous for the touch of a woman. But he didn't want just any woman, he had chosen his playmate, and thanked his lucky stars for any moment he got to share with her.

Like this moment.

This time, it was she who initiated it, running her gloved hand down his chest as they lay in the snow bank. He knew well enough now when her touches turned from playful to devious. This was a devious touch, one she perfectly calculated so that it would hit every ping inside him, like a flute. He met her eyes with a boyish gleam, a dirty smile crossing his lips.

"Someone might see," he whispered warningly.

"We can go inside…" she said, only slightly breathless.

He made a face. No doubt the wonder trio would hear them come in and pull them away from the fun; he really didn't like that option.

"Or…" Helen grinned wider, pushing herself off him to standing. She grabbed his hand and pulled him further into the maze.

She giggled freely as she pulled him into the centre. Before he could even think to ask if she really thought this was a good idea she had pulled him to her and captured his mouth in a strong kiss.

While distracting him with her lips, she undid the buttons of his overcoat and snuck her hands inside, wrapping them around his waist.

"What brought this on?" Nikola pulled away, watching her snuggle up to him.

Helen smiled.

"I don't know, feeling adventurous," she had shrugged before unwinding herself and peeling off his overcoat, turning to the bank behind her and draping the coat on it.

She turned back to him, her smile curling into a particularly devious grin before attacking his buttons again.

"Helen, it's cold," he chuckled.

"Not for long," she teased.

"You could get sick," he warned her once more.

"It would be worth it," she kissed him and he had ran out excuses for them not to continue with this. She was stubborn, always had been, especially went it came to getting something she wanted, and right now she wanted him in the snow on a cold January afternoon.

How could he refuse?

He took hold of the situation and pushed her back to the bank and coaxed her to lie down on his coat.

She followed and looked up at him through the bangs of her long blonde hair, he shuffled so she was sitting in the middle of his coat with the most desirable come hither look he'd ever seen.

A cool breeze brushed against the exposed skin of his chest and abdomen and caused him to shiver slightly; she'd be the death of him he was sure.

He joined her, using his body to block her from the harsh winter cold as his hands slipped under her coat and quickly pulled at strings and laces, enough to easily maneuver his hands to places he wanted to touch.

Helen kissed the space under his jaw, nipping his ear, leaving a cool trail in her wake that sent gooseflesh up his back.

In the back of his mind he prayed no one would come out looking for them and ruin this moment. These were his moments, the ones he got to keep all to himself. He'd had to share Helen when she had begun forming the Five, and before that it had just been the two of them, never like this, but it was almost just as good.

Nikola rucked up the skirts of her thick winter gown, trying to find a way to get himself as close to her as possible with leaving her as little exposed as he could manage.

Helen moved from his jaw down to his collarbone and the hollow of his throat, her hands ruffling his hair in her fingers.

Nikola managed to carefully undo her garter belt and was contemplating what to do with her undergarments when Helen slipped out of his grasp, momentarily to kiss him thoroughly.

Nikola pulled away from the kiss with a mournful groan, his eyes screwed shut as if he was in pain, which he was...just not physically.

"Helen," he breathed out in a whine and she giggled.

"I'll take care of it, dijete," she whispered and he glared at her. He absolutely abhorred that nickname. It was in his native language, it was very demeaning, it meant "baby". She called him that for being the youngest in the group. She had no idea how much younger because he refused to tell her the date of his birth. What was six years anyway? She used it teasingly, especially in moments like these, not like she had a leg up on experience, in fact, he knew that for a fact because he had been her first, an honor he reflected on proudly.

He buried his deep growl into the soft skin of her now-exposed shoulder to hide his intense dislike for her teasing and she just giggled more, running her hands along his back soothingly, coaxing his hips into the cradle of her lower body.

He growled again, but for a completely different reason. What he felt now, slipping a hand under her skirt again, was bare skin, she had somehow managed to do away with her undergarments and he refused to get caught up in how. She was a genius after all, almost rivaling him, his equal.

He looked up at her with an awestruck grin and her hands slipped from his back to the back of his neck, fisting his short, slick hair and pulling him towards her in a passionate frenzy.

An hour later, they reappeared from the maze, stupid, hazy, sly grins across their faces, Helen arm looped with Nikola's. He took her immediately inside as she started to shiver.

"There you two are, we thought you'd gone and died," muttered James as they walked into the main foyer.

"We…uh, lost track of time," Helen smiled at Nikola knowingly, only the slightest hint of a blush in her cheeks.

"Helen, you're positively shaking," John pointed out, making a bee-line directly in between her and Nikola. It was true, she was a tad colder than she ought to be, even Nikola had sacrificed his coat for her warmth.

"We may have been out there a bit too long," Helen chuckled.

"What were you doing out there?" asked James, pulling the two coats off of Helen's shaking shoulders and hanging them up on the coat rack.

"Well, uh…"

"Playing," Nikola interjected. "We were playing a game, a battle of wits you may call it."

"This coat is soaked through," James lifted up the sleeve of Nikola's dark coat.

"Snowball fight," Helen chirped in. "I won."

"Just barely," Nikola eyed her.

"Helen, let me escort you to your quarters and draw you a bath," John stepped in between Helen and Nikola again and Helen's smile changed dramatically from the deviously playful grin she shared with Nikola to the smile of a young girl with a crush at John, a blush fully creeping her features. Nikola's smile faded.

"Thank you, John, that'd be lovely," she smiled, allowing him to take her hand and kiss the top of it.

"Your hands are like ice," he hissed. "Let's get you warm and dry as soon as possible."

With that, John wrapped an arm around Helen's shoulder and led her away up the stairs to the residential corridors.

"Later gentlemen," Helen waved to the three let standing in the foyer.

Nikola waved half-heartedly, watching her leave with a laugh…with him.

"Nikola," James' voice broke through his reverie. "Will you ever grow up?"

Nikola looked over at James and sneered. Like it was his fault Helen got cold…well it was, but still, he'd hardly blame it on immaturity or his age.

"We were just enjoying the day, James, it's called having fun, maybe you should try it before you become too old to even remember you were young once," Nikola sneered and stalked off, locking himself in his lab for the remainder of the day.

The next day Helen woke up with a cough, which then progressed to a fever, which then led them to a week later, to now, where Nikola sat at her bedside quietly smirking. They hadn't really talked about what they did, but it was kind of funny in hindsight.

"I did warn you," Nikola smirked.

"I did suggest we go inside," Helen poked him in the chest.

"I gave you multiple times to change your mind," he poked her back.

"Please, you knew as well as I do neither of us were going to stop once we got started."

"You started it!" he laughed.

Helen laughed as well.

"I still blame you," she grinned.

"And I don't regret a second of it," he smirked.

"Neither do I," she looked at him, her smile changing ever-so-slightly.

Without a word Nikola shuffled closer, a hand cupping her cheek. Helen gasped at the contact. He brushed away her bangs with his long fingers.

He leaned in to kiss her but she stopped him with a hand to his chest.

"You shouldn't do that…I'm still contagious," she said with a teasing look in her eyes.

"I'll risk it," he slyly winked at her before pressing the gentlest of kisses on her lips.

Before she knew it she had pulled him closer to her not realizing how much she missed being touched. Her illness was completely forgotten the moment his lips touched hers.

When she woke up next she was lying, completely naked, with only a sheet covering her and she let out a small shiver. Looking up she saw that Nikola had reclosed the window and reclosed the curtains.

He was crouched in front of the fireplace trying to get a warm fire going to heat up the room.

Helen found her nightgown and slipped it on, grabbing one of her thick warm blankets, and putting the slippers on her feet.

She could see Nikola was only wearing his trousers, the suspenders hanging loosely at his hip as he blew a puff of air into the embers causing them to ignite.

She tiptoed over to the fireplace and cuddled into a ball on the couch.

Nikola peered over his shoulder at her with a smile.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Hey," she sighed.

"It got a bit chilled in here, didn't it?" he smirked.

"It did," she sighed. "If I'm stuck in bed for another week because of you I will hurt you."

Nikola chuckled.

"I will gladly take fault for it," he got up and picked up his shirt from the floor.

"Dijete," she called to him, hearing him growl quietly. "Come here," she smacked the seat next to her.

"Don't call me that," he stalked over, plomping himself down with a pout. Helen was quick to snuggle into him and wrap her arms around him, stealing every bit of warmth he had to offer.

They sat quietly for a couple of minutes, watching the fire crackle.

"I think I'm in love," Helen muttered suddenly.

Nikola kept his eyes on the fire, not willing to meet her eyes, his breath getting stuck in his throat at her words.

"With who, lijepa?" he asked, trying to keep his tone even.

"John," she said quietly.

The name cut like a knife right to the center of his chest.

"I think he likes me too," she continued, her fingers gently dancing over the skin of his collarbone. Nikola could've screamed at the situation. Here he was, half-dressed, with her, having spent the day in her bed, and here she was prattling on about perfect John, the prince of England!

"Really?" he managed to say even though his throat was tight.

"Yes, he tells me he really cares for me, and I think it is because of more than just being a member of the Five. I think he wants to court me…I think…I think I could love him, I mean, I think I do," Helen lifted her head off of Nikola's chest. "That's why I wanted to…to tell you not to tell him of…this. I don't think he'd understand…this."

"Would you…uh…like to stop?"

_Dear lord, just kill me now._

"I don't know…I think it might be best," she looked at him with a level of uncertainty he was sure he'd never seen in her before.

He allowed himself to look at her, forcing a smile.

"Then we won't then," he tried to smile as sincerely as possible. "After all, it was only a game."

Helen smiled at him and kissed the side of his head.

"Thank you for understanding," she returned to her position of cuddling him.

Nikola felt frozen, like all time had stopped as he sat in front of the fireplace. It felt like eternity until he heard her yawn.

He looked down at her.

"We should…we should get you to bed," he managed to say, pushing her off him to coax her to stand up and trot back to her bed.

She nodded sleepily.

"James would probably kill me if he saw you out of bed like this," he tried to joke.

"James can suck on a lemon," Helen muttered, slowly slumping her way back to the large bed.

Nikola sniggered, picking up the last of his things and putting as much as he could back on. By the time he was finished Helen was already settled back in the bed, cocooned in the one blanket.

Nikola sighed, and went over, draping the rest of the blankets on top of her, brushing her hair off of her face.

"Good night, lijepa," he whispered, kissing her forehead.

She mumbled something of a good night and he smirked, placing his cravat on the tray next to the empty soup bowl he had brought for her, picking it up and heading out of the room as Helen slipped into her slumber.

They wouldn't talk about what happened earlier, and a few days later Helen was back to her normal self, and two weeks later she and John announced that they were courting.

Nikola said nothing, instead choosing to take a long walk in the maze.

~~~~Author's Notes~~~~

Hey all, been a lazy few months in the writing department, busy in all other aspects of life. I thought of this shorty though and thought I could at least give them that. This is probably going to be a two-hander at most a three.

It doens't fit into any of my previous canon,and goes along with more of the show's canon idea in the months leading up to the Five taking the source blood. So currently, in my head, they are soon to receive it and start working on it. Also, this whole story is based on the idea that Helen and Nikola were having casual, if playful and not all that serious sex before this story happens. The thought struck me as an interesting way to start their friendship...but obviously Helen doesn't see it past a physical game. It'll be fun, just go with it.


	2. Chapter 2

_**~~~~6 Months Later~~~~**_

The evening was filled with laughter and song.

James sat at the piano plunking away at a funny drinking song he had heard in his youth, accompanied by Nigel in the vocals. The pair of them were keening loudly, with great vigor, it was hard not to laugh.

Helen and John sat on the settee watching their friend's performance. Helen's laughter broke through the caterwauling like silver bells accentuating the melody of the scene.

Normally, he' be sitting right beside her laughing along with her, whispering silly comments to her, trying to get her to laugh some more, but now someone has taken his place.

John sat beside Helen, their hands entwined, a glass of brandy cradled in his other, laughing along with her.

How he tried not to bore holes into the back of John's skull with his eyes.

Nikola stood in the back of the parlor, leaned up against the mantle of the unused fireplace.

It was summer, no need for the hearty warmth of a fire. Besides, even fire couldn't compare to the warmth he craved.

Her blonde hair cascaded in long beautiful curls down her back, and bounced with every shake of her head. He yearned to reach out and touch one of those curls but ever since she had tied herself to the possessive Druitt, any uninvited finger was under deep scrutiny.

How ironic: he thought.

Being around her was pure torture, his fingers practically itched whenever he was around her, yet he had to restrain himself because she "belonged" to someone else. Still, he reminded himself to smile on occasion, hopefully they would think nothing of it, like he was deep in thought about one of his inventions not quietly brooding in the corner.

He took a sip of wine. He never thought it would hurt this much.

When he started this strange relationship with Helen all those months ago he had never thought he would come to loath it. At the time it had snuck up on them. Helen and he had always been close, from the moment they met they were never adversed to expressing affection for one another through touch. He was always playing with her hair, or kissing the tops of her knuckles or embracing her from behind and lifting her feet off the ground and twirling her about. She in turn liked to kiss his cheek, fix a stray hair now and then, and cuddle by the fireplace during their long arduous nights studying.

Then some of those touches started to linger, and they would get more adventurous, push the boundaries of social acceptance. Nikola's favorite memory was of a boring lecture he and Helen once sat through wherein they commenced a kissing war. They sat in the back and while the speaker turned to write on the chalkboard Helen planted a kiss on Nikola and issued a challenge for Nikola to retaliate, and so on and so forth. By the end of the lecture Nikola had his hand halfway up Helen's dress, and she had near-violently dragged him out of the lecture hall and into a closet away from prying eyes. It had been the first, most intense kissing session he'd ever experienced. It didn't go further past lips and neck, but it could have had James not interrupted them. Nikola easily lied and said that Helen was upset by the lecture, and with her flushed skin and slightly mussed hair it was not a hard sell.

From that point on they were kissing all the time. By the fireplace, during their studies in the library, in the park, any moment alone was spent tangled with Helen.

If he only truly missed one thing these past six months it was that: her kisses. Something he received so freely was now given so rarely it ached in his chest with an emptiness he'd never felt before.

He was in love he knew that now. In love from the moment he met her. But he had been nothing but a toy, a trial run. Where she had lavished him with her attention, she was really only satisfying her own curiosity, and now that a real man has come along she was done with her training wheels.

Nikola glared, seeing John sneak a kiss to the shell of Helen's ear. Nikola could feel the flames of jealousy boil deep in his gut.

He threw back the rest of his wine, in spite of himself.

Helen's gasp broke through his thoughts as John handed her a small little box with a bow on the top.

Nikola was about done with the display of their "love". It was starting to make him sick. He grabbed the wine bottle off the mantle and turned himself around to face the other side of the parlor. Like anyone was really going to notice him sulking. He refilled his glass and muttered to himself in his native language under his breath.

"Nikola!" Helen cried suddenly, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. He stopped breathing all together. His heart fluttered slightly, and the instant comfort of being so close to her immediately melted his previous bitter feelings like butter.

"Look at what John made me," she squealed with delight.

His heart sank slightly, but chose not to think about it. He chose instead to focus on the smell of her perfume, the feel of her arms wrapped around his middle, the softness of her hair brushing against his cheek...god, she was beautiful.

Helen held up two lockets, one in each palm, for his inspection.

"Aren't they beautiful!" Helen sighed like the girl in love she was.

In one locket was a picture of John...beauty is not a word he would use to describe it, vulgar blatant vanity maybe. In the other locket was a picture of Helen, as beautiful as she was now, frozen in time like a butterfly frozen in glass. He could look at this picture forever and pretend that the love in her eyes was meant for him.

"They're lovely," he muttered. "Well, you more so than him."

Helen laughed and squeezed him slightly.

"Oh Niko!" she admonished.

"I'm only being honest," he said defensively. Helen released him from her grip and he immediately turned to face her. "Dance with me?"

Helen gave him a smile and nodded, tucking the lockets into her bosom for safekeeping. Nikola tried not to lick his lips at the sight of her beautiful chest peeking out from the top of her dress.

She took his hand and they began lightly swaying to the music.

"You look enchanting tonight," Nikola whispered to her.

"Thank you, dijete," she teased and he did his best to ignore her.

"Reminds me of that one time. Christmas, was it?"

Helen burst out in a laugh, and a small hint of color hit her cheeks.

"No, no, we're not going to talk about that," she shook her head.

"But you were so cute," Nikola smirked. "I thought you did an amazing job hiding it from your father."

Helen hid her face against his shoulder.

"I was so embarrassed," she muttered.

"Your father could've killed me with his stare," Nikola chuckled. "It was like he knew what I had done with that mistletoe."

Helen smacked his chest.

"Enough," she tried to say seriously through her laughter.

The two continued dancing completely absorbed in each other.

Nigel was at the piano now, playing a lovely tune while James went to refill his brandy glass next to John who was watching Helen dance with the sniveling Serbian weasel.

It was no secret that John despised his lover's best friend. James didn't say anything to the small growl John gave.

"What can those two possibly be whispering about?" John muttered.

"I don't know," James shrugged, handing a brandy to his friend. "They go a long way back, even more than we do. Did you know they met each other as children?"

"Really?" John growled, not really interested.

"Yes, her father visited his hometown when they were just children. They don't remember it at all, but Gregory remembers Tesla's father and mother very well."

"That doesn't surprise me, Gregory seems to be well acquainted with everyone," John sneered, sipping his brandy.

"John, they're just dancing," James leant into John's ear.

"It's not just the dancing, it's the touching, the smiling, the laughing..."

"John, you don't seriously think Helen would..."

"No, I'm not worried about Helen. It's him. I see the way he looks at her, like a pathetic puppy. It's just...inappropriate. When a woman is betrothed to another man, despite what your friendship was like beforehand, there are certain manners and customs you have to follow. You are Helen's friend as well and you realize this."

James nodded.

"I will have a chat with him," James assured him with a kind smile.

"See that you do," John handed his brandy glass to James and strode over to the dancing couple.

"Excuse me, my dear," John's demeanor instantly changed to one of absolute charm. Smiling for his beautiful Helen. "May I cut in?"

"You certainly may," Helen smiled back at him. "Thank you for the dance Nikola," Helen waved as she took John's hands.

John all but shoved Nikola away as he took over in the dance with Helen, Nikola stood dejected to the side. Well, the moment had been nice while it lasted. John had a habit for ruining the moment.

Nikola went back to his place by the mantle and reclaimed his glass of wine. It was back to sulking in the corner for him. Was it his fault that he was hopelessly in love with the one woman he could not have?

Without noticing it, James was suddenly standing beside him cradling his brandy.

"Helen looks rather lovely this evening doesn't she?" James said casually.

"Yes, quite," Nikola muttered, looking into the bowl of his wine glass.

"Must be the glow of a woman in love," James continued.

"Yes, must be," Nikola tried not to sneer.

"And you, my friend, have the shadow of a lover spurned," James turned to Nikola, his voice low. At that, Nikola's eyes shot up to meet James. "It's no secret, Nikola, that you have had a bit of a crush on Helen for awhile."

Nikola held his tongue until James was done speaking.

"You're not doing a very good job of hiding it so," James tried to smile comfortingly.

"It would seem so," Nikola said tightly, averting his gaze once again.

"Nikola, Helen loves you...like a little brother..."

Heh, if only he knew.

"...She cares about your happiness, and so should you care for hers. She's never been so happy, just look at her."

Nikola looked up and felt his heart twinge. He wasn't wrong about that, Helen truly did glow, but it wasn't a comforting thought. He wished he was the one that made her smile so.

"You'll find someone infinitely better fitted for you, once you grow out of this funk you're in, you just have to let her go."

Nikola wanted to punch him right there. He had no idea what he was talking about, and to presume that he had no idea of his feelings was insulting. Yes Nikola was the youngest of the group, but what was six years, he wasn't a generation underneath them, he'd had crushes before, hell he'd had sex before, he was not a child, and what he felt was not a mere school boy's crush.

Nikola gulped back the rest of his wine and placed the glass harshly back on the mantle.

"Thank you, James," he muttered sarcastically. "I'll be sure to think on it."

"Now Nikola," James reached a hand out to him but Nikola marched around him, and started heading out the parlor door.

The music stopped and so did the dancing.

"Nikola, where are you going?" asked Helen.

"I'm going for a walk!" Nikola barked and marched right out of the Sanctuary and past the gate.

"What did you say to him?" Helen turned to James.

"Nothing, he's drunk and in a foul mood," James shrugged.

"He's been moody for the last few months," sighed Nigel. "I think all the research on the blood is taking its toll on him."

"John, go after him," Helen turned to him with soft pleading eyes.

"Helen, he's fine, he just needs to walk it off, let's not let him ruin our evening," John sighed when he saw Helens eyes instantly harden. "It's a tantrum, that's all."

"Well if none of you will go after him then I will," Helen scooped up a handful of her skirts and stormed towards the door.

"Wait Helen!" John called. "I'll go, you stay here. I'll go find him."

Helen softened once again.

"Thank you, John."

With a silent grumble John walked past Helen and out of the parlor. This would provide him the chance to have a heart to heart with the Serbian genius.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Nikola found himself walking through a small park not too far from the Sanctuary. Walking always made him feel better, not as well as swimming but he wasn't about to jump into the Thames.

Six years. What was six years? Six years meant nothing, not to Helen. James was the oldest of the group, or at least he acted like the oldest. John and he were close in age. Helen was in the middle, and Nigel was older than him by a meager two years. What was six years?

Nikola tossed a stone against a tree.

Why should he care what James thinks? James can go suck on a lemon.

Nikola smiled to himself slightly at the memory, which quickly faded to a small grimace.

James thought what he felt for Helen was a simple boy crush. What he did not realize was it was so much more than a crush, it was full blown, heart wrenching, pain-staking, only-thing-I-desire love.

What was worse is that he couldn't even tell know-it-all James or pompous John that he had been there first. Helen desired him long before she fell in with John.

He threw another stone. He could scream. Oh, if he could rip his aching heart from his chest!

Suddenly, he heard a sound from behind him and he quickly spun, his next stone poised to fire upon the intruder of his thoughts.

He was met with a low chuckle.

"It's just me, old friend," John stepped out of the shadows.

Nikola did not feel much safer but he lowered his arm.

"What do you want?" he sneered.

"Helen sent me after you, she was worried after your little outburst," John shrugged casually.

"You can tell her I'm fine, I just came out here to clear my head," Nikola sighed and tossed the pebble to the ground.

"I thought I would take the opportunity to have a little talk with you," John stepped closer. "See, Helen and I are courting. I don't know what that means to you in your culture, but here it means seeing a person of the opposite sex with intent of marriage."

Nikola clenched his teeth.

"I know what it means," he said tightly.

"I don't think you fully understand though. Helen is in all rights betrothed to me, she has no interest in you in any other sense than as a colleague and a friend. You were very close beforehand but now I would very much appreciate it if you would not make such inappropriate advances to my love."

Nikola growled deep in his throat.

"What does Helen have to say to this...chat, we're having?" Nikola matched John with a death glare.

"She probably agrees with me," John said snidely.

Nikola scoffed.

"Word of advice John, you should probably talk with the woman you love before you start staking claims where they don't belong," Nikola had about enough of both John and James treating him like an insolent child.

He moved to walk away but John roughly grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him back to face him.

"No, I don't think you quite get it, Tesla. Let me make it more clearer."

Before Nikola could push away John had jabbed his fist into Nikola's solar plexus. Nikola bent forward, the air rushing out of his lungs from the force of the punch. A hand wrapped around to clutch his gut.

Soon, another fist made contact with the side of his face and he was lowered to one knee.

"You see, old boy," John stepped back, shaking out his fist. "Helen is mine. She loves me." John punched him again and he fell to the ground. "She will never love you, you sniveling, pathetic, puny little weasel!" John laid a kick on him with every word.

Nikola couldn't breathe, his ribs ached, and his arms flailed uselessly as John beat him. Nikola was not a weak man but he was no match for the brute strength of John Druitt. John knelt beside him and punched him hard in the face. Nikola tasted the trickles of blood coming from his nose.

Nikola couldn't even call up enough strength to land one punch on John in retaliation.

The hits seemed to keep coming, till the sound started to numb in his ears and he barely had the energy to keep his arms up enough to protect himself.

And just like that it ended and John was kneeling above him, wiping his bloody and raw knuckles on the collar of Nikola's shirt.

"If you tell Helen of this I will assure her you're lying, and convince her to throw you out of the Sanctuary and out of the Five, and because she loves me she will do so. Don't make me have to make her choose between the two of us," John smirked cruelly.

Nikola could do nothing but gasp and splutter on the ground.

"I suggest you go on that walk now, you know, clear your head," John pulled out Nikola's handkerchief out of his pocket and tossed it at Nikola. "You have something on your face."

John chuckled and stood up, taking one last look at Nikola and then shaking his head.

"Pathetic," he scoffed and began walking away.

Nikola lay there until John's footsteps were long out in the distance.

He coughed and painfully turned himself over to spit into the grass. A shaky hand reached for the handkerchief lying on his chest. He managed to haul himself up to sitting, his entire torso groaning in protest. His ribs were definitely cracked in some places and he was sure his nose was broken. One eye was quickly swelling and closing up and he used the handkerchief to mop up the cuts alone his cheek bones and lower lip.

That barbarian thinks he's a gentleman, he's barely cro-magnon; pure ape.

Nikola lifted his hands, including the one clutching the handkerchief to his nose, tenderly feeling the location where the English Gorilla had graciously punched it out of alignment. A sharp pain jolted through his face as his nail scraped against a contusion. He squeezed his eyes shut and on a quick out breath cracked his nose back into place, rewarded by a fresh gush of warm, coppery-flavored blood. He yelped from the pain but quickly recovered, wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

Bastard.

With a bit of effort he made it to his feet. Using a nearby tree for leverage as he found his footing despite the stinging coming from his chest.

What would happen if he told Helen the truth? Nothing could be worse than this! Beaten, bruised, and heart broken over a women in love with a classed-up Orangutan. So what if she kicked him out, she'd already laid him the worst blow of it all. She used him to satisfy her own curiosity before wasting it all on a blunt brute who didn't respect her so much as want to own her. What could possibly be worse than that?

Not seeing her...not being able to hear her laughter...not being wanted by her at all, as either a lover or a friend. To be totally and completely rejected by her. It would kill him. As much as it killed him now to desire her from afar, it would utterly destroy him if he couldn't see her even just a little.

With a shaky step Nikola moved away from the tree.

Despite all his instincts telling him to rat out John for the possessive bully he was, Nikola could not risk damaging his relationship with Helen, on the off-chance she'd even believe her precious John was capable of such brutality.

He limped slowly, being careful not to joggle his ribs more than necessary. He could only see out of one eye, and knew he was only a few blocks from the Sanctuary. Hopefully everyone would be too busy in the parlor to notice him trudging to his bedroom. No doubt Helen would make him explain. All he wanted was a drink and a comfy bed, and to not move for...well forever really. He wondered if anyone would notice if he locked himself away for a week.

He made it to the Sanctuary gates sooner than he thought he would. The lights were still on in some areas of the impressive mansion. He could still hear the piano and some laughter coming from the parlor. If he could just quietly sneak to his bedroom that would be great.

The door in the great foyer opened with a creak and shut with a moderately loud clunk, but the piano was playing loud in the parlor, and they were all probably engrossed in a story of one of Nigel's younger ne'er-do-well adventures.

He began to carefully walk to the grand staircase that took him to the bedrooms.

Suddenly the piano halted and the sound of rushing footsteps drew nearer like a wave. Instinctually he turned to face the other way, hiding his face.

Helen led the charge coming from the parlor to the foyer.

"Nikola, where have you been?" she cried. "I sent John to go looking for you, he said you were nowhere to be seen!"

Nikola scoffed slightly. Lying bastard.

"Um," he started to say.

"You shouldn't have upset us so much Nikki," said Nigel. "Poor Helen here was nearly pacing the room in anticipation."

Nikola smiled slightly at that.

"What were you doing that took you so long?" Helen reiterated.

Nikola sighed.

"C-can I go to bed?" Nikola muttered. "I'm not feeling my best."

Nikola did his best to hide his broken face. He did not want Helen to see him like this. A few days, he'll heal up, he'll tell her that he got in a tiff, he just wouldn't say with whom.

"Nikola, what's wrong?"

He felt Helen's hand upon his shoulder, and he almost sagged into her touch.

Nikola moved his face lower and more to the side to keep it from her gaze.

"Nikola, Nikola look at me please," Helen said softly. Her fingers touched the corner of his chin, gently coaxing his head to turn. He couldn't stop it, anything to keep that blessed contact, it did more than any painkiller or medicine could ever do.

Suddenly he was looking at her through one good eye.

"Nikola!" Helen gasped. Her hands came to cup his cheeks gently and he wanted to die. "Who did this to you?"

Nikola struggled on what to say, remembering what John had said to him, and honestly, right now, he was a little afraid of him and what he might do to keep him silent.

"N-no one. Just some brute I got in an argument with. He attacked me on my way home," Nikola said, maintaining eye contact, knowing that James was watching.

"Oh Nikola. What was the argument about?"

"Difference of opinion," Nikola shrugged.

"Who is he? I'll kill him!" Helen growled.

"He's no one, don't bother. It doesn't matter anyway," Nikola muttered.

Helen sighed.

"Come, I'm going to patch you up. Nigel could you get me some ice and my father's med kit," Helen instructed.

Nigel nodded and rushed to find the requested items.

"James, if you could boil a pot of hot water..."

"Certainly," James nodded.

"John, I want you to go to the nearby pubs and see if you can find the man who did this to Nikola," Helen looped an arm about Nikola and gingerly started walking him to the staircase. "Nikola, lets get you to your room and out of those bloody clothes."

Nikola nodded. This worked out better for him than he thought. He resisted the urge to give John a triumphant look but instead reveled in the smell of Helen's hair.

James waited patiently for Helen and Nikola to depart the room.

"Seems like it will be a long night," John went to grab his coat off the rack, moving quickly to avoid the analytical genius.

"John," James had a firm grip on his arm. "What happened to your knuckles?"

John stuttered slightly.

"I tripped while looking for Nikola and scraped them on the way down," John tried.

James scoffed.

"John how could you? It looks like you beat him within an inch of his life!"

"He swung at me first."

"Oh bull! His hands were the only thing on him not covered in bruises!"

"I was trying to get my point across..."

"Well you certainly did that!"

"It got a little out of hand..."

"Out of hand! I should say so," James sighed. "John, I know you felt as if you had to, honestly I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about giving Tesla a good smack once in a while. But he is a member of this group, and more importantly, Helen still very much cares for him...as a brother. If she finds out it was you...it could ruin your relationship with her forever. Not that Tesla is going to tell her, you've somehow gotten the Serb to hold his tongue. I won't tell her either, but Helen is a smart girl, we both know this...she might just figure it out on her own."

John nodded his understanding.

"Right now she believes Nikola's story and we must go on like we believe it too. Go," James ordered with a huff. "I want you to think up an apology, and it better be a damned good one!"

John seethed as he grabbed his coat and marched out into the night.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Nikola lay on his bed. A hot towel over his one eye and Helen's hands traveling down his body.

It would be erotic except for the fact that he looked like a punching bag.

He watched her with his one good eye as she tended to him.

"Nikola, you didn't fight back," Helen muttered. Examining his fists, running a damp cloth to wipe the excess blood away.

"I didn't have the chance to," he sighed.

"What kind of man attacks another in the dead of night over a simple argument?" Helen growled. "John would never do something like this."

Nikola chuckled slightly. The irony.

He reached out and grasped Helen's hand gently.

"Yo-you don't have to do this, I'll be fine after I get some rest," his voice was little more than a whisper. The truth was he was enjoying it a lot more than he should be.

Helen shook her head.

"It's okay, dijete. I don't mind," she smiled at him. "Someone has to look after you and it might as well be me."

"I'm sorry for - for ruining your evening," Nikola muttered.

"Nonsense. I'm a doctor Nikola, I live to wash the blood off of poor defenseless creatures," she said teasingly and he spluttered with laughter which quickly turned into a cough of pain.

Helen frowned and continued sliding the cloth over his skin, moving from his hands to his neck. She peeled off the ruined cravat, and began undoing the buttons of his blood-stained vest and shirt, parting the fabric to clean his torso. Her gasp filled the intense quiet.

There were deep bruises running along his side, and she could see at least two ribs were broken and the rest cracked.

Her eyes flashed with anger.

"I'll kill him," she growled. "The bastard I'll kill him."

Nikola barely registered her half mumbled curse. He was too lost in the feeling of her fingers to really care.

This was more affection than he's seen from her in the last six months. He cherished it.

He winced as her fingers pressed against a cracked bone.

"Lie still Nikola. Just rest, dijete," Helen smoothed down a patch of his hair. "I'll be right back. Are you comfortable? Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Nikola muttered quietly.

Helen smiled and leaned down, pressing a soft kiss into his forehead.

Nikola felt every worry and every pain simply drain out of him the moment Helen's lip touched his skin.

All too soon she pulled away, pulling up the edges of his blanket slightly.

"I'll just be right back," Helen smiled and quickly left the room.

Nikola's good eye followed her out. He should almost be thanking John for beating the crap out of him. Having her look after him was marvelous. His mouth twitched with a smile. John must be kicking himself.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Helen stormed into the parlor, anger ripping at her chest. James and Nigel came to their feet as soon as they saw her.

"How is he?" Nigel asked.

Helen marched past them and poured herself a brandy.

"He broke his ribs," she growled.

"What?" asked James.

"The bastard broke Nikola's ribs! There is deep bruising. He broke his ribs and then still continued to kick him. Whoever did this I'll - I'll find him and when I do I'll..."

She chugged back the brandy in an angry huff.

"Just calm yourself Helen, you sent out John, he'll take care of him," James said tightly.

"I'm sorry, it's just...it's Nikola...I know he can be a bit of a hothead, he's a little arrogant, and sometimes we want to take a swing at him yes, but this...this was not just a few guys having a difference of opinion, this was a brutal attack, whoever did this is a psycho, a Neanderthal, a, a, a pig!" Helen yelled tossing her glass, allowing it to shatter. "I hate men like this, I hate them! It is the absolute lowest point of civilized society when a man beats another man because he's smarter than him."

Helen stood up and began pacing.

"I really hope John finds him and puts him in his place. Nikola is our friend and like it or not, we take care of this group!"

With that Helen stormed out, nearly running into John on the way out.

"Oh, John! Thank goodness, did you find him, where is he?" Helen softened at seeing her lover there.

"Uh...Helen..."

Just like that her anger returned.

"I'll be with Nikola until you find him and bring him before me so that I can see him for myself!" Helen barked and marched up the stairs.

James gave John a look before heading back to the parlor. John stood in the foyer frozen by frustration.

If he could go back in time and stop himself for beating the shit out of Tesla...dammit, he would. Obviously, Nikola hadn't ratted him out yet, he might be able to use that to his advantage.

John looked down at his raw knuckles, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. He had a plan.

_**~~~~Elsewhere~~~~**_

Helen came back into Nikola's room with fresh bandages and a fresh basin of water so that she could finish cleaning and dressing his wounds.

Nikola was resting, his eyes closed, and his breathing gentle.

She sat on the edge of the bed and gently pulled the blanket down and spread the flaps of his shirt open. She pulled out a small flask of sterile alcohol Nigel had gratefully cooked up for her. She poured a generous amount on to a clean cloth and gently dabbed the cuts on his face. He winced fitfully but it was not enough to fully stir him.

Helen gently proceeded to skim her fingers down his bruised chest to the swelling near his ribs. She deftly felt out where the ribs were out of alignment and with her best care pressed them back in. Nikola's eyes immediately shot open in immense pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Helen cried quickly.

Nikola grunted but relaxed quickly.

"It's alright...a little bit jarring..."

Helen smiled in relief.

"I was hoping you we're a deep sleeper," she muttered.

"You already knew that I'm not," he snickered.

Helen gave him a look.

"Nikola, we're not talking about that."

"About what?" he shrugged innocently.

"You know what." Helen tried to hide her smirk.

Nikola waved her off with a sigh and rested back down, closing his eyes.

Helen finished resetting his ribs and began splinting them tightly with the bandages.

"Nikki, why do you do this to yourself?" she sighed suddenly and Nikola cracked an eye open.

"He started it," Nikola whined.

"I know you're a genius but I'd rather you didn't get yourself killed over it," Helen sighed.

"I can't help it that he was a petty bastard who couldn't appreciate what he had even if he tried," Nikola muttered.

"And what was that?" Helen gave him a look.

"Certainly wasn't brains," Nikola sneered.

Helen rolled her eyes.

"Still, you didn't have to provoke him," Helen tied the knot on his bandages. "There. Now, you will remain in this bed until I deem you fit to move. I want you to heal up properly."

Dr. Helen Magnus had entered the room with an authoritative glare.

"And what if I don't?" Nikola teased.

"Don't make me tie you down," Helen warned.

"Don't tease!" Nikola joked.

Helen swatted him lightly.

"Oh, you!" she snorted. "Get some rest. I'll be here in the morning."

"No, please stay," Nikola grasped her arm. "I have something I need to say to you."

Helen sat back down, settling her petticoats.

"Alright, what is it?" she asked.

"I..." he hesitated looking into her eyes. "...would like you to read to me if that's alright?"

Helen smiled softly.

"Just till I fall asleep," he added.

Helen nodded.

"Alright...what do you want me to read?" Helen asked.

"Anything," Nikola smiled like a child, the firelight making his eyes twinkle.

Helen snickered and went over to the small desk, rifling through the selection of books on top.

"Here we are," she lifted up a book of poetry. "One of our favorites."

Nikola looked up lazily as she walked over with the book. He smiled a half-crooked thing at her, which looked slightly pathetic once you took in his battered appearance.

She sat at the edge of the bed again and he shook his head.

"No, no, that won't do," he half-heartedly smacked the space on the bed next to him.

Helen eyed him warily but conceded, gently situating herself to lean against the headboard on the bed beside him. He quickly adjusted himself closer to her, just enough to rest his head against her arm.

Helen began reading hesitantly. Having Nikola this close to her made her a little tense, he hasn't been this close since...well, since the last time. His good eye drooped shut as she continued. It was times like these Helen remembered why Nikola and her got along so well, they're friendship always came down to enjoying the small things in life. A glass of wine, a warm fireplace, and a book of poetry was more than enough entertainment for them. Nikola always liked hearing her read to him...several times though it had ended in a much haughtier embrace.

Helen thought back to those days of exploration. It was like they were children learning of the other's body, and playing with the emotions and the heightened senses without fully realizing what they were doing. It was about touching, not about loving...and she missed it, just a little bit. Being loved, and being made love to was nice in its own right, John was every bit the gentleman she'd hoped he'd be, but he lacked the spontaneity and excitement her little games with Nikola used to incite. A sexual encounter with John was like booking a doctor's appointment, it never just happened, it was planned, to the minute, and though the minute was packed with love and intimacy it somewhat lacked imagination.

Helen shook her head of that train of thought. It wasn't proper for a lady to be comparing her two, well, lovers she should call them, she guessed. Nikola was more her playmate while John her lover, but for the sake of argument she decided it best to put them under one name.

Nikola was her first...love? No, well, she cared for him certainly, otherwise she wouldn't be here trying to comfort him, but to say he was her first love, no...he was her first sexual playmate. The first man she'd ever taken to bed. Why? At the time she couldn't think of anyone else she would want to share the experience with...so, at some level she must have loved him, or desired him. Yes, she did desire him then, she was certain of that. He was everything she wasn't supposed to want. Reckless, dangerous, hotheaded and foreign. Not one you were meant to settle down with and start a family. Which is why she desired him, she reasoned, he was another punch in the face of society's oppression of women. She defied all it's laws by sharing her bed with a man who'd never court her, never be her betrothed, and never raise a family. A man, who always treated her as his equal. Yes, that was it, she had loved him for she was his equal.

John was everything Nikola was not, for better, she reasoned. He was respectable, charming, a long career ahead of him, with the means to create a stable, happy home. She loved him, truly, because he would be the father of her children, and the safe arms that would hold her at night.

Helen smiled at the thought. She realized she had drifted off from reading the poem because of her thoughts. She looked down to see Nikola fast asleep, his broken nose causing his breathe to wheeze on every exhale.

"Oh Nikki," Helen looked down and stroked a hand through his damp hair.

All thoughts of John dissipated into thin air.

"What am I going to do with you?" she sighed and kissed his forehead gently.

She quietly got up and placed the book on the stand next to the bed.

She remembered a time when she was bedridden and he had taken care of her. So she would do the same, just until he was better enough to walk.


End file.
